


you can set yourself on fire (but you're never gonna burn, burn, burn)

by qwertynerd97 (Daffidill23)



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Based On A Panic! At The Disco Song, Episode Fix-it, Gen, Good Morgana (Merlin), Magic Revealed, or rather my mishearing of the lyrics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-01-19
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22312468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daffidill23/pseuds/qwertynerd97
Summary: she said at night in my dreamsyou dance on a tightrope of weirdbut when i wake up you’re so normalthat you just disappearthere’s a secret of magicthat is so hard to findthis whole residue of a sorcererinside of your mindMorgana doesn’t only dream about the future; sometimes she also dreams the present and past.  Her dreams show her that she’s not the only one in Camelot with magic.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin & Morgana (Merlin), Morgana & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	you can set yourself on fire (but you're never gonna burn, burn, burn)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was singing along to Crazy=Genius the other day, and I thought it had the line "this whole residue of a sorcerer inside of your mind" in it. Along with the fire motif and the "At night in my dreams" bit, it dropped a plot bunny on me about Morgana dreaming about Merlin's magic, and launching a reveal.  
> (Later, when I was looking up the lyrics to copy over for the fic, I found that it was actually "residue of a torturer", but at that point my brain was committed)

_ Arthur’s manservant creeps down a dark tunnel, his footsteps falling silently on the stones. In moments, the tunnel widens out into a deep cave, and Merlin’s eyes flash gold. The torches on the wall ignite. _

_ Merlin calls out to the depths of the cave, and a giant golden dragon appears. The two converse for a long moment, and then the dragon flies off. Merlin’s eyes flare golden once more, and the torches extinguish, plunging the cave back into darkness. _

Morgana woke up with a gasp, breathing heavily. This was the third night that she had dreamed of Merlin, blatantly displaying magic and speaking with a dragon. While it was absolutely absurd to think that Arthur’s manservant could have magic, the dreams seemed so real that she considered the possibility for a long moment. But then Gwen opened the door to her room, and Morgana shook the last hints of her dream away. After all, the dream that Princess Sophia would kill Arthur had seemed just as real, and that clearly did not happen.

There were many logical arguments as to why Merlin, of all people, could not be a sorcerer. For one, this was Camelot. With Uther’s hatred of magic, it would be the height of folly to practice anywhere in the city, much less the royal household. For another, sorcerers wielded a vast and unknowable power, and Merlin was pretty much the opposite of vast and powerful. And, to top it all off, Merlin was Arthur’s manservant because he had saved the life of the Crown Prince, something no sorcerer would do.

Despite all of these very logical arguments, though, Morgana could not fully convince herself that it had been  _ just _ a dream. She resolved to keep a close eye on Merlin this week; if she found no proof of sorcery then she would just chalk it up to a bad dream. (She did not bother to think of what she would do if she  _ did _ find sorcery; she was certain that she wouldn’t)

Luckily, today was Arthur’s coming-of-age ceremony, and so both he and Merlin would be easy to keep an eye on. Throughout the ceremony, Morgana watched Merlin. He seemed genuinely proud of Arthur, although he was clearly joking around with Gwen about it. Gwen laughed, and Morgana chalked up yet another reason why Merlin could not be a sorcerer: he was far too kind.

Morgana was jolted out of her thoughts by a knight in black armor burst through one of the stained glass windows. The knight strode up to Arthur and threw down his gauntlet in challenge. Because she was already looking at Merlin, she saw the fear flash through his eyes, but just as quickly it vanished when Sir Owain darted forward to grab the gauntlet and accept the challenge. 

Over the next few days, Morgana kept an eye out for Merlin whenever their paths crossed, but was far more focused on the battles at hand. Sir Owain faced down the Black Knight, and although Morgana was certain that he had struck a wounding blow, The Black Knight won the match and laid down another challenge. This time, Sir Pellinor took it up, and the next day Morgana watched as Sir Pellinor ran the Black Knight through with his sword. Despite what was certainly a mortal blow, the Black Knight continued fighting, and killed Sir Pellinor. He threw down his gauntlet once again, and this time Arthur grabbed it before anyone could stop him, unconcerned about the clearly supernatural nature of his opponent.

Since she could do nothing about Arthur’s upcoming match, Morgana decided to follow Merlin around, looking for a way to prove to herself that he wasn’t a sorcerer. This proved to be trickier than she expected; between his duties as Arthur’s manservant, his work as Gaius’ apprentice, and the general duties expected of a castle servant, Merlin seemed to be constantly in motion, racing from one place to the next. Even as night fell, Merlin did not seem to slow down, racing from Gaius’ chambers to the library and back. 

Just as Morgana was about to retire for the night, Merlin emerged once more, heading in the direction of the training yard. Morgana tailed him at a distance, curious about what Merlin could possibly be doing there this late at night. She watched, perplexed as Merlin walked up to the Black Knight, and held out his hand. His eyes flashed gold, and he muttered a string of unfamiliar words. A blazing fire lit the darkness, and then vanished, leaving the Black Knight totally unharmed.

Morgana bit back a gasp, and darted a couple of steps further back into the shadows. Her investigation was meant to  _ disprove _ her dreams, not prove them! She held her breath as Merlin raced past her out of the training yard, and then stared after him blindly. It was almost impossible for her to process: Merlin was a sorcerer.

Morgana stumbled back to her room, trying to think over what she should do. She was not Uther; she did not condemn people for simply having magic. And yet, she could not think of any good reason why someone with magic would be in Camelot of their own free will. It was well known that Uther hated magic, so if Merlin already had magic he would have avoided Camelot like the plague. And if he did not have magic before he moved, it would be even more foolhardy to learn it while living in Camelot. Either way, the only reasons that Morgana could think of to have magic in Camelot were nefarious. On the other hand, Morgana could not imagine Merlin betraying Camelot. He was far too loyal to Arthur, and to the people of Camelot. Morgana fell asleep late that night, still undecided on what to do.

The next morning, Morgana had decided on a course of action. She would confront Merlin about his magic, and then use his reaction to determine if he was going to be a problem. But no matter where in the castle she went, Merlin was nowhere to be found. Eventually, she gave up the search and headed to give Arthur some last minute encouragement before his battle with the Black Knight.

Of course, moments after she had resigned herself to tracking Merlin down after the battle, she ran into him in the hallway, lugging a sword and a pile of armor. He looked to be heading for the training yard, which was a little odd, since Morgana knew that Arthur had yet to leave his room. As such, she felt no guilt in grabbing him by his neckerchief and yanking him into a side hallway.

“Why do you have magic?” she demanded, not giving him any time to recover.

Merlin fumbled and almost dropped the bundle he was carrying.

“Wha - magic? Me? My lady, you must be mist-”

Morgana cut him off. “I saw you last night, setting the Black Knight on fire. Don’t -”, she held up a finger as he tried to interrupt, “don’t try to tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about; I just want to know why you decided to use magic in Camelot.”

Merlin looked at her with fear in his eyes, and then, in an instant seemed to come to a decision. “I promise, I will explain everything after the battle, but I  _ need _ to get this sword to Arthur; it’s the only way to keep him from dying today.”

Morgana looked at him for a long moment. She really shouldn’t let a sorcerer with an unknown motive get anywhere  _ near _ Arthur, but this was  _ Merlin _ . If he was going to harm Arthur, surely he would have already done it? And Arthur was going to be fighting a clearly supernatural opponent; perhaps Merlin had figured out a way to defeat the Black Knight.

“He is still in his room,” she said, releasing her hold on Merlin’s neckerchief. “I’ll come with you.”

Merlin opened his mouth as if to protest, but then closed it again. He adjusted his grip on the pile of armor, and then trotted off towards Arthur’s room. Morgana followed close behind him, raising her eyebrows everytime Merlin darted a glance back at her. When they reached Arthur’s room, Merlin knocked once, and then opened the door without waiting for a reply. Inside the room, it was clear that Arthur was still abed - odd, since he was usually awake well before any battle.

Morgana waited by the door as Merlin placed the armor down and went to rouse Arthur. Despite several moments of speaking, shouting, and even shaking, Arthur slumbered on, deeply asleep. For a moment, Morgana thought about calling Merlin away; if Arthur slept through his challenge than he would be safe from the inhuman endurance of the Black Knight. Only two things kept her from that decision; first, Arthur would never forgive himself for failing to meet his duty, and second, there was no telling what kind of chaos the Black Knight might cause if his opponent failed to appear. 

Morgana looked around the room for something she could use to help rouse Arthur, but her eye caught on an empty bottle on Arthur’s bedside. She glanced at Merlin, and it was clear that he had seen it as well. He grabbed the bottle and sniffed at it, wrinkling his nose up.

“Gaius’ strongest sleeping draught,” he muttered.

Morgana frowned. “Could you wake him?” she asked, and when Merlin looked at her, perplexed, she wiggled her fingers, reminding him that she knew about his magic.

Merlin swallowed deeply, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were a brilliant golden color, and Morgana could not stop herself from taking a step back, pressing herself against the wall.

“ **Ic ácwice þé,** ” Merlin entoned, and Arthur began to stir. Merlin blinked away the gold in his eyes, and Morgana tried to organize her expression into some semblance of normalcy.

In moments, Arthur was awake and leaping out of bed, clearly aware that he had slept for longer than he should have. Merlin scrambled around, grabbing clothes and offering them to Arthur. Arthur stepped behind the changing screen, and threw his nightclothes back over the top, which Merlin deftly caught and put away. As Arthur stepped out from behind the screen, Merlin was ready with his armor, strapping it on deftly and double checking every piece for weaknesses.

Morgana watches the pair of them with a bit of awe. Arthur was outfitted for battle flawlessly, in mere moments, and without a single word spoken between them. Even she and Gwen were not that in sync, and for a moment Morgana could forget about all the worries building up, and simply marvel at how well Merlin and Arthur knew each other.

And then Merlin pulled out the sword he had brought, and Morgana snapped back to reality. Merlin held it out to Arthur, pommel first, and Arthur raised his eyebrows.

“ _ Mer _ lin, you idiot, that’s not my sword,” Arthur drawled.

“It’s a coming-of-age gift from ...Gwen. She says it’s the finest sword he’s ever made.”

Arthur looked at the sword for a long moment, and then took it from Merlin’s grasp. Merlin stepped back a few paces, giving Arthur ample room to swing the sword around. With only a handful of swings, Arthur’s face transformed from skeptical to impressed.

“The balance is truly impressive. Thank Gwen for me, this sword is certainly one of the best I’ve ever held.” Arthur strapped the sword to his side and stride out of the room, nodding to Morgana as he exited. Merlin and Morgana followed after him as he headed down to the training grounds.

As the crowd gathered in preparation for the Black Knight’s challenge, Morgana kept an eye on Merlin, who had separated from her to sit in the commoner’s section. He looked just as nervous as she felt, every emotion written across his face, and she marveled that he had managed to keep his magic a secret for so long.

With all the worries about the supernatural nature of the Black Knight, the battle ended up being almost disappointingly short. Arthur came onto the field, and observed all the usual protocols, before beginning the battle. The two knights traded blows back and forth, until one of Arthur’s blows landed on the Black Knight’s helmet and knocked it off. Morgana gasped as she saw the Knight’s head - his head was mummified and skeletal, clearly the face of a dead man. Arther faltered for a moment, and the Black Knight knocked the sword out of his hands. In two blows, the Black Knight had knocked Arthur to the ground, and Morgana bit her lip. Arthur managed to raise his shield just in time to catch the Black Knight’s blow, and then scrambled for the sword. In one swift movement, he brought it up and through the Black Knight’s chest. The Black Knight exploded into dust, and the arena filled with cheers.

Morgana stayed in the stands just long enough to be polite, waiting through Uther’s relieved declaration of a feast. Then she ducked out, heading for the armory in order to find Merlin. She passed Arthur as she entered, calling back to Merlin to make sure that his armor was well polished. 

Inside the armory, Merlin was cleaning off Arthur’s armor. Morgana walked over to the table, where Arthur’s new sword was laying. She traced over the strange carvings on the side, and looked over at Merlin, who was watching her with apprehension.

“The sword wasn’t from Gwen, was it?” she asked

Merlin frowned. “Gwen… gave me the sword”

“But you did something to it, something that helped Arthur win. Something magical”

Merlin nodded, slowly.

“Why?”

“For Arthur,” Merlin said, gaze steely. “It’s my destiny to protect him, to make sure he becomes the best king he can be”

Morgana frowned. In a way, many of the events of the past few months began to make more sense; Arthur had survived a number of improbably close calls with magic. And Merlin had gained his position as manservant by protecting Arthur, so it was not improbable for him to have continued doing so. Morgana took a deep breath, and made her decision.

“I won’t tell Uther about your magic,” she said, and Merlin visibly deflated with relief. “But you  _ must _ be more careful. If I could figure it out, others could as well, and if Uther finds out, well, you might as well set yourself on fire for all your chances of surviving.”

Merlin smiled, wryly, and went back to polishing Arthur’s armor. Morgana set down Arthur’s sword, and left the armory. She would keep an eye out for Merlin in the future, and see what help she could give him in his quest of protecting Arthur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Merlin spent the whole running around like a headless chicken and fighting a losing battle to keep Arthur from dying. And then, in this ‘verse, Morgana just comes out of left field and announces that she knows about his magic? That’s like the worst possible way for his magic to be revealed, and then he doesn’t even have time to deal with it because he has to get Arthur outfitted with Excalibur. And then Arthur won’t wake up? horrible, everything is just absolutely terrible all the time
> 
> Also, can you imagine how confused Uther and Gaius must have been that morning?   
> Uther: Gaius, I thought I instructed you to give Arthur a sleeping draught last night?  
> Gaius: I did, Sire, and I watched him drink it. He should still be abed for hours yet.  
> Uther, internally: my son is so committed to duty that he broke through the effects of one of Gaius’ strongest concoctions
> 
> Yes, I know I should be working on my Daminette fic, but this plunny bit me and would not leave me alone. I figure since it's just a two chapter arch I should be able to get it out of my system fairly quickly, right? (hahahaha ahhhhhhhhhhhh)


End file.
